Adjustable mechanism for oscillating electric fans



J. J. GO UGH May' 26, 1936.

ADJUSTABLE MECHANISM FOR OSCILLATING ELECTRIC FANS 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 5 Ir /cr; tor:

\Eme; $50 4 y 6, 1936- J. J. GOUGH ADJUSTABLE MECHANISM FOR OSCILLATING ELECTRIC FANS Filed June 3, 1935 2 Shegts-Sheet 2 liv 7 Patented May 26, 1936 UNITED STATES ADJUSTABLE MECHANISM FOR OSCIL- LATING ELECTRIC FANS James J. Gough, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Chicago Electric Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application June 3, 1935,. Serial No. 24,696

4 Claims.

My invention relates to oscillating electric fans, its general objects being that of providing simple, inexpensive and easily adjustable means whereby the user of the fan can readily vary the are through which the projected stream of air will be oscillated.

My invention relates to so called oscillating electric fans of the general type in which a motor which has the fan blade member on its shaft is oscillatably supported upon a pedestal or other supporting member, and in which the oscillation of the motor upon the pedestal is effected through a crank and link connection between the pedestal and an upright shaft driven 5 by the shaft of the motor.

To adapt such an electric fan for effective use under varying conditions, it is desirable to have the oscillating mechanism include means whereby the arc of oscillation of the mot-or can be varied, so that the user can vary the sweep of the blast of air; and it is also desirable that the user should be able to annul the oscillation entirely, so as to use the electric fan for projecting the blast of air continually along a fixed axis.

Heretofore proposed arc-adjusting mechanisms for such oscillating electric fans, have had the following objections, which presumably account for the relatively rare use of such adjusting means on oscillating fans:

(1) The large number of parts employed for this purpose, particularly when the adjusting means were constructed for varying the arc of oscillation all the way from zero to the maximum for which the mechanism was constructed, has added considerably to the manufacturing cost of the oscillating fan and hence also to its sale price.

(2) Owing to space limitations, the spring used in such an adjusting mechanism had to be quite light and is apt to lose its resiliency so as to permit parts associated with the spring to slip out of their intended position.

(3) The making of the adjustment required the manipulation of a plurality of parts according to correspondingly lengthly instructions which often would puzzle the lay users of such fans, who are mostly women, and which would prevent many an owner of such a fan from obtaining the advantages of the arc-adjusting provision if the instruction sheet was mislaid or lost.

(4) Since every such adjustment has to be made while the motor is not running, an inexperienced user when attempting such an adjustment could not tell what efiect he was going to obtain, until he thereafter started the motor and watched its operation. Consequently, this user might have to try quite a number of diiferent settings of the adjusting means before obtaining the desired arc of oscillation.

My present invention aims to overcome all of these objections by providing an unusually simple and inexpensive provision for adjusting the arc of oscillation to any point between zero and the permissible maximum, by permitting the 10 user to make the adjustment by manipulating only a single screw and manually rocking the motor upon the pedestal, and by enabling the user to determine the arc of oscillation from the position of the motor before he tightens this 15 single screw.

Illustrative of the manner in which I accomplish the purposes of my invention,-

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of a table type oscillating electric fan embodying my invention, with the major (lower) portion of the pedestal broken away.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same parts, taken from the right-hand side of Fig. l, and with the major portion of the casing for the motor and the gear mechanism shown in section.

. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the rear portion of the same oscillating fan, with a part of the casing broken away.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken along the 30 line 44 of Fig. 2 when the motor was at the end of a half-oscillation, with dotted lines showing the position of the same parts at the other end of the half-oscillation, showing the arcvarying elements adjusted for the maximum arc.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section allied to the full line portions of Fig. 4, showing the arc-varying elements adjusted for an oscillation are of zero so that the fan blows air continuously in the same direction. 40

Fig. 6is an enlarged and fragmentary elevation, taken from the line 6--6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a section along the line 1-! of Fig. 6, taken when the mechanism is adjusted for the maximum arc of oscillation.

Fig. 8 is a section taken along the line 8-8 of Fig. 7, looking upwards.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged-vertical section along the line 99 of Fig. 3, showing the speed-reducing means interposed between the motor shaft and 50 the upright shaft which operates the oscillating mechanism.

Fig. 10 is a section taken along the correspondingly numbered line in Fig. 9 showing the assembly of the horizontal shaft of the speed-reducing means with the worm and the worm wheel on that shaft.

Fig. 11 is a section taken along the line I III of Fig. 2, showing two positions of the relatively adjustable parts when the oscillation-arc adjustment is made while the crank member of my mechanism has the axis of its guide groove disposed longitudinally of the link associated with that member.

Fig. 12 is a section allied to Fig. 11, showing two extreme positions of the crank-member and the link when the adjustment was made while the said guide groove extended transversely of the axis of the link.

Fig. 13 is an elevation, similar to Fig. 6, of the crank member alone.

In the drawings, Figs. 1 to 3 show portions of a table type fan motor in which a pedestal I rigidly supports a riser lug 2 which has a laterally projecting arm 3. Journaled upon this lug for movement about a vertical axis is a strap 24 which supports a. motor and mechanism assembly. As here shown, this assembly includes a motor (generally designated as M) having a horizontal shaft S to one end of which the usual (not illustrated) fan is fastened. The other end of this shaft has a worm thread 5 (Fig. 9) meshing with a worm wheel 6 fast on a horizontal mechanism shaft 1 which is housed by, and journaled in, a mechanism housing H, and a tubular worm 8 is splined on the mechanism shaft 1.

This worm 3 meshes with a worm wheel 9 fastened to the upper end of an upright shaft III which is supported by mechanism housing H and extends downwardly within and beyond a depending journaling tube II on the said housing. Fastened to the projecting lower end portion of this upright shaft II], as by the screw I2 of Fig. 7, is a disk-shaped crank member C which has a downwardly open groove G, the axis of which groove extends diametric of the said member through the axis A of the upright shaft I0, this latter axis being offset from but parallel to the axis of the disk-like crank member.

The groove G in the crank member has its lower portion reduced in width so as to provide opposed guide ledges I supporting a slidable member I4, which member may be an axially upright and smooth-surfaced square nut freely slidable between the upright longitudinal walls of the groove G.

Threaded upwardly into the slidable member I4 is the shank I5a of an upright pivoting screw I5, which shank presents a diametrically enlarged cylindrical portion I5b slightly below the crank member, desirably so that a washer I6 can be clamped between the-bottom of the crank member and the upper end of the said enlarged portion I5a when the screw I5 is tightened.

operatively interposed between the pivoting screw I5 and the horizontal arm 3 on the lug 2 which supports the motor and mechanism assembly is a link L, which link has one end journaled on the cylindrical portion I5b of the upright pivoting screw I5, and its other end journaled on an upright pin P (Fig. 1) depending from the said lug arm 3.

With the parts thus arranged, the effective throw of the crank member varies with the spacing between the axis A (Fig. '7) of the upright shaft I II (which rotates the crank member) and the axis a of the pivoting screw I5. Consequently, this throw, on which the arc of oscillation of the fan shaft depends, can readily be varied by loosening the said screw and again tightening that screw after the slidable member I4 has been shifted to a different position longitudinally of the grove or guideway G in the crank member.

For example, if the parts are initially adjusted (as in Figs. 7 and 8) so that the slidable member I4 is at its maximum spacing from the axis of rotation A of the crank member, a rotation of that member when current is supplied to the motor will cause the crank member to move the link L to and fro, between the two extreme positions shown in Fig. 4.

Consequently, the axis of the horizontal fancarrying shaft S will move through an arc of the same size as the are through which the axis of the upright shaft moves, namely (with the here pictured assembly) to and from the fanshaft axis positions I! and Ila through an oscillation arc I8.

However, if the slide I4 is nearer to the axis of the upright rotating shaft I0 than it is in Fig. '7, the arc of oscillation will be reduced. Indeed, when this slide is moved so that the axis of the pivoting screw I5 coincides with the axis I of rotation A of the upright shaftnamely in the position Ma of this slide in Fig. 8the crank member C will rotate about the said axis of rotation (through various positions as indicated in dotted lines'in Fig. 5) without imparting any motion whatever to the link L, so that the electric fan then is operatively non-oscillating.

To adapt my arc-adjusting mechanism for use by lay men or women without requiring the use of tools and without allowing an undue movement of loosened parts to move the slidable member I4 out of the guideway in which this slide is disposed, I provide stops for limiting the movement of this slide to two positions which correspond respectively to the maximum arc of oscillation and to an entire annulling of the oscillation. For this purpose, the drawings show the crank member as having the end portions of both of its upright longitudinal groove walls deformed to afford stops 8, each of which stops projects toward the opposite groove wall. In addition, I may also allow a little play in the pivotal connections of the two end portions to the crank member and to the lug arm 3, by doing which I avoid the necessity of a highly exact spacing between the stops s at the opposite ends of the groove or guideway in the crank member.

With my oscillating fan thus constructed, I enable the user to adjust the arc of oscillation easily, speedily and without the use of any tools. by manually rotating the motor and mechanism assembly while the pivoting screw I5 is temporarily loosened. If this could only be done when the crank member is in a certain rotational position, such an adjustment could not be made by the average woman or child, because the worm gearing which is operatively interposed between the motor and the crank member cannot be operated backwards. However, with the adjustable oscillating feature arranged as above described, the needed adjustment can readily be made regardless of the rotational position in which the crank member happens to be when the motor is halted, for the following reasons:

If this halted crank member is in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4 and likewise at C in Fig. 11, so that the axis 20 of the guideway in this crank member extends approximately through the axis P on which the opposite end of the link L is pivoted, a loosening of the pivot screw will leave the slide free to move longitudinally of the said guideway. Consequently, when the motor and mechanism assembly is rotated manually (as by a hand grasping the casing 2| of the motor), the crank-carrying shaft ID will have its axis rotated about the pivoting pin 4 which supports this assembly on the pedestal, along the arc 22 of Fig. 11. Since this movement (downward in Fig. 11) causes the said upright shaft It] to approach the link pivot pin P, the fixed length of that link causes the sliding member M to slide to a corresponding extent in the guideway of the crank member.

Consequently, by manually oscillating the motor assembly on the pedestal, the user can readily move this assembly between the two extreme positions to which the stops s limit the movement of the slide in the guideway. When the user then halts the movement of the motor and mechanism assembly at a point intermediate of these extreme positions, and thereafter tightens the pivot screw Hi again, the mechanism is completely adjusted for a smaller arc of oscillation.

If the motor was halted when the guideway G in the crank had its axis 20 approximately at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the link L, as in Fig. 12, a manual rotation of the motor and mechanism assembly will swing the crank so that the axis of the pivoting screw I moves in arc 23 so closely approaching the axis 20 of the guideway that a slight play between the slide l4 and the side walls of the guideway, or in the pivoting of the other end of the link L, will permit the slide to move freely between the positions shown respectively at l5 and [5a in Fig. 12.

Likewise, if the crank was halted in any rotational position between those of Figs. 12 and 13, a manual rotation of the motor and mechanism assembly on the pedestal will automatically cause the slide to move in the guideway by a combination of the effects shown in these figures. Consequently, my here disclosed oscillating mechanism is one which can instantly be adjusted even by a child, and by providing an enlarged and peripherally knurled head on the lower end of the pivoting screw I avoid the need of any tool for making this adjustment. Moreover, the entire cost of my are adjusting provision is so small that it does not add materially to the total cost of the electric fan.

However, while I have described my invention as embodied in a table type fan and as including numerous desirable features, I do not wish to be limited in these respects, since many changes might be made without departing either from the spirit of my invention or from the appended claims. So also, the term upright, as here used in connection with the crank-rotating shaft I0 was only used illustratively as applying when the lug 2 has been so fastened to the pedestal (by the usual latch screw 23) that the pivot pin 4 is upright.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an oscillating electric fan of the class in which a motor and fan assembly is oscillable as a unit upon a supporting member about an upright axis, in which the said unitary assemblage includes an upright shaft rotated by the motor conjointly with the fan, in which a link is pivoted at one end to the supporting member for oscillation about an upright axis spaced from the axis of the said shaft, adjustable oscillation-effecting means consisting solely of: a crank member fast upon the lower end of the upright shaft, the crank member having a downwardly open groove diametric of and extending across the axis of the upright shaft, and having integral opposed ledges extending part way toward each other from the lower portions of the side walls of the said groove; a slidable element seated upon the said ledges and slidably fitting the said groove; and an upright screw extending upwardly between the said ledges and threaded into the slidable element, the screw having a shoulder normally in upward engagement with the said ledges to clamp the slidable element to the crank member; the said element being slidable, from a position in which the axis of the screw alines with the axis of the upright shaft, to a position in which the axis of the screw is considerably spaced from the axis of the upright shaft; the screw also having a shank portion disposed below the crank member, on which shank portion the other end of the link is pivoted; the last named pivoting serving to cause the link to slide the slidable element in the said groove to vary the spacing between the axis of the said screw and the axis of the said upright shaft while the said screw is loosened to release it from upward engagement with the said ledges, thereby permitting the arc of oscillation of the motor and fan assembly to be adjusted to and from zero by manually rotating the said assembly about the supporting member.

2. An adjustable oscillation-effecting means as per claim 1, in which the crank member and the slidable member have relatively interengageable portions disposed for halting the sliding of the slidable member in one direction with respect to the crank member when the axis of the said screw alines with the axis of the upright shaft.

3. An adjustable oscillation-effecting means as per claim 1, in which the crank member and the slidable member have relatively interengageable portions disposed for halting the movement of the slidable member in one direction with respect to the crank member when the axis of the said screw alines with the axis of the said upright shaft; and in which the crank member and the slidablememher also have relatively interengageable portions disposed for halting the relative movement of the said members in a direction opposite to the aforesaid direction, the said two sets of relatively interengageable portions serving conjointly to prevent a detaching of the connecting member from the crank member when the latching means are released.

4. An adjustable oscillation-effecting means as per claim 1, in which the groove is open at both ends, and in which the crank member has two portions thereof, spaced longitudinally of the groove, indented into the said groove, the said portions being disposed for halting the sliding of the slidable member respectively in two positions, in one of which positions the axis of the said screw and of the said shaft are in alinement and in the other of which positions the said axes are spaced for effecting the maximum oscillation of the said assembly upon the supporting mem ber.

JAMES J. GOUGI-I. 

